


When the Saints Go Marching In

by xStronger



Series: When the Saints Go Marching In - fix-it [1]
Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms
Genre: Afterlife, Alternate Ending, Angst and Feels, Bittersweet Ending, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Character Death Fix, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ending Fix, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Future Character Death, Klaus Mikaelson Deserves Better, Parent Klaus Mikaelson, Past Relationship(s), Peace, Protective Elijah Mikaelson, Protective Klaus Mikaelson, Sad and Happy, The Author Regrets Nothing, julie plec fucked up but i fixed it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 17:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15539121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xStronger/pseuds/xStronger
Summary: "The music, the crowd... This is the night we met. You remember every detail. I must of made an impression.""You know very well you did."/"I guess I'll see you in the next life.""If we're destined to meet each other in another life, just know - I'll be waiting for another dance."****The Originals fix it fic. or;"how The Originals should have ended"fic





	When the Saints Go Marching In

**Author's Note:**

> I'm used to writing/reading 'fix-it' fics for Marvel, but Julie Plec isn't that far behind either. This one is a Cami-centric fix it fic, but i'll probs write one for klaroline too. ignore the shitty writing, i just wanted to give my babies some closure. i made myself cry while writing this.
> 
> after being a fan of tvd & to for almost 8 years now, i needed to say goodbye to the characters i loved, the proper way.

After the darkness, there was... _Rousseau's._

 

The small, 'hole-in-a-wall' bar stood right there where it always did, with its sign swaying in the summer breeze. Despite it being Mardi Gras, the streets were suspiciously vacant and empty of tourists that usually roamed through New Orleans. Isn't that how he met Joshua, his most disappointing minion? As a young tourist who just wanted to have a good time in the city of witches? 

He looked around, but Elijah was no longer there. He looked down at his hands, but the white oak stake was gone as well. For the briefest of moments, panic claims his body, like a terrifying tidal wave that completely drags him under - but just as it came, the panic was gone.

Was this peace? His peace?

Vacant New Orleans, on a bright sunny day? Sans the annoying, chatty human tourists that have a tendency to photograph everything their eyes can see; not that he was ever particularly fond of the noise and the crowds, but now, in the absence of it, he finds himself missing it. Was this his curse? To spend the rest of his eternity all alone, abandoned by everyone that he has ever loved? But if facing his greatest fear was the price he had to pay so that Hope - the light that shined in the never ending darkness of his life - could live out her life safe and happy, then that was the price he was willing to pay.  

But then, out of nowhere, laughter cut through the air as a lone blast of wind opened the doors that led to Rousseau’s. He could hear the laughter and the excited chatter a little better now and his curiosity forced him forward and into the bar.

And there she was. Standing behind the bar, pouring drinks for the patrons, just like she used to do, many, many years ago. The hallucination he saw earlier was nothing in comparison to the real Cami; the Cami that now stood so close to him that he could just reach out his hand and touch her.

 

All at once, his eyes filled with tears and they fell freely when she finally looked over at him, despite his best efforts to blink them away.

 

“ _Klaus?_ ” the glass filled with bourbon slipped through Camille’s hands and shattered on the floor. Suddenly, the chatter disappeared and everyone was looking right at him, but he didn’t pay them any attention - the single center of his focus was Camille. She was frozen in time, looking exactly the same as he remembered her - blonde hair that had a mind of its own and those piercing blue eyes that were capable of taking his breath away - and that smile.

 

She didn’t even give him a chance to get a single word in - as usual - before she was running straight to him. Her arms wrapped themselves tightly around him and the unmistakable shakes rocked her body as she cried into his shoulder.

 

“How? How are you here? Hope - Hope needs you.” but even as she said that, she couldn’t stop herself from holding him a little tighter.

 

“It’s a long, long story and I have all the time in the world to tell you about it. But right now, love, there’s something else I want to tell you - as a matter of fact, I have waited for years to tell you this.”

 

And finally, as she looks up at him, all of the pain vanishes. All the anger, the blinding rage and pain disappear and he can’t help the smile on his face.

 

“I love you Camille O’Connell.”

 

“I guess that tomorrow came after all.”

 

And with that said, she finally, finally kissed him.

 

* * *

 

 

He could hear the cheerful song of birds that were hidden among the tree branches. They were everywhere around him.

 

But other then the birds, he was alone. His beloved brother, Klaus, was no longer there with him. The empty street he was standing on with Klaus - the street where it all began all those years ago, with talks about kings and heirs - was gone and replaced with woods. Miles and miles of trees and nothing else.

 

And then one single tree caught his attention.

 

_‘Hayley Marshall’_

 

And there it was - the pain of memories. The pain of knowing. He couldn’t escape it, even in death. And maybe that was for the best. This tree was all the evidence he needed, a constant reminder of what he’s done. He had let her down and this time, she wasn't around to slap him for making promises that he couldn't keep. He didn’t deserve peace.

 

“You just couldn’t wait for that dance, could you?”

 

And that voice - Hayley’s voice - grounds him. Without even realizing it, he’s turning around and my God, there she is. Smiling brightly, with her hands stuffed into the pockets of her jacket, leaning on a tree as her eyes hold that ever-present glint of mischief in them. And she’s as beautiful as ever.

 

“I am so, so -”

 

“Before you do something stupid like say you're sorry, for example, let me stop you right there.” the smile never leaves Hayley’s lips as she makes a couple of steps and closes the gap between them. “I've missed you, Elijah Mikaelson.”

 

“And I’ve missed you too. I've missed you so, so much, Hayley Marshall.” 

 

“Come on, you owe me a dance. And I know just the place.”

 

She offers him her hand and without a moment of hesitation, he takes it.

 

* * *

 

 

There is a universal truth that those that we love never truly leave us. They’re still right here, with us, no matter how long they’ve been gone. You can find them in the everyday things you do, or in a favorite poem, or even in a song. They're always there, living in your memories and in your hearts, safely hidden from the harsh passage of time, until you’re ready to see them once again. Because that’s what always and forever truly is. Knowing that even after they’re gone, our loved ones are still there - safely waiting for us on the Other Side.

 

As an immortal being who’s been around for a thousand years, Elijah never really believed in the Other Side. What’s the point in believing in it when you can’t die?

 

But now, as he stood in Rousseau’s, holding Hayley’s hand in his own, he believed. Peace was real. The Other Side was real.

 

Loud laughter caught his attention and he looked at the bar; and there he was, his little brother, Niklaus. Sitting at the bar, with a glass of bourbon between his fingers, laughing at something Camille has said.

 

Joshua was there too, hand in hand with Aiden. Sophie as well, she gave him a short nod before disappearing back into her beloved kitchen. Father Kieran, Sabine, even Gia - they were all there, sitting inside of Rousseau’s with a drink in their hand. And one day, Rebekah will join them, as well as Marcel. Kol and Davina too, and Hope, Freya and Keelin and all of those who will come after them.

 

“So, can I get that dance now?” Hayley asked and as he started to turn his head to look at her, Klaus looked right at him from the bar. With a smile, he tipped his glass and dived back into the conversation he was having with Camille.

 

“Yes, I believe we’re due for a dance.”

 

Peace was real. It existed and it gave hope to those that needed it. Hope that after their long and happy lives, he’d be reunited with everyone he loved. One day he’ll enjoy Freya and Keelin’s crazy parenting stories, and the story of Hope’s first love and her first heartbreak and Kol and Davina will tell him all about their crazy adventures and all the places that they’ve traveled to. And when it's time, after they've collected every possible story to share and seen all of the places they wanted to see, they'll find him and Niklaus again. And he’ll be right here, next to the woman that he loves, waiting for all of them.

 

_Always and forever._


End file.
